(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling an electric clothes dryer wherein a wide range of degrees of drying of clothes can be selected regardless of the amount of the clothes involved. The method of controlling the electric clothes dryer provides a drying operation having "Normal" and "Extra" drying degrees for a rated amount of clothes and "Damp", "Semi", "Normal" and "Extra" drying degrees for a small amount of clothes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an exhaust type electric clothes dryer having relatively low humidity exhaust air, a humidity sensor is provided in an exhaust duct of the electric clothes dryer. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 89297/1983). However, the humidity sensor thereof falls short of the desired detecting capacity. In particular, the detection of a high drying degree of the clothes using the humidity sensor is impossible.
In other words, for a desired high drying degree of the clothes, for example "Normal" and "Extra" drying degrees for a rated load, the electric resistance value of the humidity sensor becomes close to the rated electric resistance value thereof, so that the sensor is unable to discriminate properly between humidity values for dry conditions. Therefore, it is impossible to accurately detect different values of humidity using the humidity sensor because the output electric resistance values of the humidity sensor change rapidly for different values of humidity in the dry range.
In addition, for "Damp", "Semi", "Normal" and "Extra" drying degrees for a small load, it is impossible to detect the electric resistance value of the humidity sensor because of the rapid change of the electric resistance value of the humidity sensor for such small loads.
Accordingly, the electric clothes dryer of the prior art has defects in the drying operation control, in particular at the high drying degree for a rated load of clothes and at the drying degree for a small load of clothes, so that it cannot provide a wide drying degree selection.